History Keeper and the Five Faces of Evil
by Professor Image
Summary: 10 years ago Harry Potter disappeared. On the night that Harry was supposed to be sorted, five brothers appeared. To the shock of the whole school, when Professor McGonagall called the name "History Keeper" all five brothers stepped forwards to be sorted. What's their connection to Harry Potter? (Being Rebooted)


Disclaimer: I do NOT own Harry Potter, Sherlock Holmes, or Alice in Wonderland. I also don't own any references to any work of fiction or non-fiction contained herein. The only thing that I own is my original characters, my original plot lines, and anything that I explicitly made for this story or any other stories that I made mentioned in this fanfiction. I made no money off of this work, as this story was written for entertainment purposes only. So don't sue.

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**IMPORTANT, READ FIRST!**

**This story was written in a spur of the moment setting. As such, I have no actual plans for this story, and am only writing this story to entertain myself. Because of this, I don't know when or if I'll ever update this story. Because of this, I've adopted a different approach to this story.**

**ADOPT A STORY!**

**That's right. Any and all material covered in this story may and can be adopted by anyone who reads this story. Provided that the person who ADOPTS this story gives CREDIT to me being the one who originally came up with this story in the DISCLAIMER of the story that they write. Any and all material covered in this story, both in THIS chapter and any OTHER chapters that I may or may write can be used. Further, even if the adoptee doesn't want to use the whole story, but bits and pieces, then that is okay as well. This story is basically to give the adoptee freedom of choice for the story.**

**NOTES**

**A few notes before we begin the story, in case you, the adoptees, want to know a little more about the development of this story so you have a better idea of where I was heading with this story to give you more material to work with.**

**Aku: My OC (Original Character) Aku has been a long in development OC for a long time now. His history is a bit mysterious and contradictory, as he's undergone several different overhauls, and as such has a variety of background stories. However, the background I was working on here was that Aku was once, long ago, human, only he somehow was able to evolve from a human to a near omnipotent god/demon creature. After a short but fierce war with the heaven in his home dimension, Aku took up reign over Hell as the King of Demons. Eventually, though, he would give up his lordship of hell to become the Eternal Traveler, and would proceed to spend eons of time traveling through space, time, and dimension. Through his travels he would meet a variety of people, including the Goddess of Time: Gwen, Alice; of the Alice in Wonderland series, and John Watson and Sherlock Holmes of the Sherlock Holmes series. Though, eventually, after the death of Alice Aku is persuaded by Gwen (Time Goddess) to take Harry Potter into his custody, and raise him as his own son to prepare him for his destiny.**

**Alice: This is the Alice of the Alice in Wonderland series. Much of her past remains a mystery to even me, but I was going under the thought that she was connected to the Potter family by blood, and her "Wonderland" was really her magic affecting the reality. Because of the sheer power involved with altering reality, she invariably drew the attention of Aku. They would later become lovers, and Aku would gift her with a pseudo-immortality that would eventually dry up and leave her dead.**

**John: John Watson of the Sherlock Holmes series. Most of his story remains the same, with Aku interfering in his life in a similar way that the Doctor (of Doctor Who) interferes with the lives of everyday humans. John and Sherlock would go on several adventures with Aku, until Sherlock died, and John retired from the adventuring bizz. But Aku still visits him to this day.**

**Gwen: Her past is the biggest mystery. My original thought was that she was a long ago lover of Aku. However, something happened that caused her to become incorporeal, becoming simple "Time Particles" that only Aku and similar "enlightened" beings are able to see and interact with. Only Aku and Harry/History Keeper/Red/Blue/Green/Gold/Silver are able to see and interact with her at this time.**

**Harry Potter: The day Aku came across Harry would change his life. Able to see the same potential in Harry as he possessed in himself (through unexplainable reasons) Aku would take Harry under his wing, teaching and nurturing the boy, preparing him for his destiny. Under the guidance of Aku, Harry would quickly evolve into something more than human. However, one day Harry decided to muck around with his powers, and permanently separated himself into five people who all represented his inner qualities. Red is his courage. Blue is his desire for knowledge. Gold is his loyalty. Green is his cunning and ambition. And Silver is everything else. Despite this set back, Harry would prosper from this development, and Aku would eventually accept all five parts of Harry as his own son. Harry's transition from human to something more would progress to its final stages when the five Harry's would adopt the title of "History Keeper", since he now possessed the ability to see into the future and hop through time, and as such he had the responsibility to "keep" the "history" the same as it should be.**

**And that's all I have. So enjoy. If you want to adopt this story or parts of this story, PM me your request. You'll be accepted, either way, but I still want to know if you're going to adopt this story so I can follow along with it.**

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History Keeper and the Five Faces of Evil

Chapter I

Strange Brothers and Hogwarts

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The great number of years had culled the crux of his anger. Much of the unbridled violence that had remained hidden, seething at the edge of his meticulously crafted façade had faded to become nothing more than background noise. Still, despite the numbing of his fury, his feet still remembered the path, carrying him silently through the thicket.

He wasn't sure how long it had been since he had last visited this place. Had it been a hundred, or maybe two hundred years? Age had dulled his once keen memory, sputtering like his once ferocious anger. Still, his body remembered where he had to be even if his mind didn't. That was all he needed.

Of course, the fence had been replaced since last he had visited, and much of the exterior of the house had been remodeled to account for its age. The house likely wouldn't still be standing if it had remained the same it had been two hundred years prior.

Very few humans knew of this house, and he knew that the owner of said house probably had thought of some cover story to keep the locals away; probably it was probably something do with the family switching hands whenever one of them died. It's what he would do; had done, plenty of times over these last few centuries.

He took a little time to examine the house with critical, grey eyes. He did not want to head inside. Every thought was against such a course. But he had been called, by one of the only people he respected in all universes out there. He could no more ignore her then he could himself.

He released a tired sigh, popped the latch on the gate and ventured into the yard. Though much had changed about the house, it still felt the same; it was highly likely that she had stayed here despite the ever-changing tides of time. She was sentimental like that.

He dismissed heading into the house proper. She was probably waiting for him out in the back, likely having seen him with her annoying, all seeing eyes. He fought down a smile, not wanting to feel any pleasure at the idea that that woman could literally spy on him at any moment of her life. It was distracting, and he didn't much care for it.

As he had thought, he found her on her patio, shaded under an umbrella with her back turned to him. Her hair was still impossibly long, golden and brilliant, and she still had the same pixie like figure from what he could tell of her backside.

"You're late," it wasn't a question. But the voice that spoke it was tired, and aged. His brows knitted together in speculation.

"I got a little side tracked," he told her. It was true. All that dimension hopping had gotten him a little confused. Time had simply gotten away with him.

She sighed.

"You are as impossible as ever then," she said, turning around to stare at him. His facial muscles twitched in carefully masked alarm at the sight of the aged face staring back at him.

"You're old," he intoned, in a voice that wasn't so much shocked as it was deadpan. The old woman staring back at him affixed him with a deadpan expression, in mirror of his words.

"And you're an ass," despite her words, a touch of softness came to her otherwise hard features, "like always," and the tone of her voice was slightly wistful.

Sitting down across from her at the table, the man asked, "When did this start?" the woman leaned heavily against her chair and adopted a look of remembrance.

"Fairly recently, I'm afraid," she chuckled a moment, shaking her head at a thought. "I guess even I'm not immune to the effects of time," she fixed her blue gaze on him, echoing so many emotions in that one look that the man might have recoiled if he wasn't so accustomed to retaining his own emotions.

"And yet you haven't aged a bit," she quieted for a time, before suddenly asking, "How long has it been for you?"

The man sat back in his chair and adopted his own thoughtful expression, eventually saying, "Maybe one hundred, or two hundred years. I can never tell…"

The woman laughed softly, shaking her head. He glanced to her, and seeing his expression she explained, "It's been half a century for me."

"Then how?" he motioned to her, not really wanting to say it. She smiled softly.

"Like I said, it's a recent development; all this aging, it's happened in the last five years…" she told him. His brows knitted together.

"How's that possible?" he asked, confused.

"It's not surprising, Aku," the old woman told him softly, a sad smile lighting her face. She looked to him then, fixing aged eyes onto his grey ones, "I was never meant for immortality after all…"

The man now identified as Aku leaned heavily back, looking now as if he was seriously wounded by her words. His eyes flickered to the woods surrounding them, then to the house, as if searching for the right words to say, before eventually heaving a sigh and saying, "Alice…"

"Don't be so sad, my love. You're not a god, you've said so yourself many times. And despite what you may believe, you can't prevent this…" the woman, Alice, told him, her voice nearly a whisper. Aku looked very nearly like he wanted to protest this, but eventually settled back in the seat without a word.

"Before I die," Alice began to say, but was silenced by a fierce hiss.

"Don't speak." Aku ordered. Alice smiled faintly, like this was an age-old conversation that they had held many, many times over.

"Just be still and listen to me, Aku," Alice told the man. Her serious expression culled the sudden jolt of rage that had rushed through his veins, and Aku sat back heavily with a defeated sigh.

Smiling, Alice said, "Before I die, I wanted to let you know that I was sorry…for hurting you." Aku stiffened for only a moment before his body relaxed and a small smile rose to his thin lips.

"Don't worry, I've long since forgiven you," he told her, patiently. The old woman raised a disbelieving eyebrow.

"Really?" she asked him in disbelief, "because if I know you like I think I know you, then you've only just let go of your anger the moment you stepped through my gate. You've likely been holding onto that anger since we last spoke, and still hold onto some of it even now. You're probably just saying that to make me feel at ease," she smiled sadly, saying, "It's okay to be angry, Aku."

"Yeah, and don't you think I know that?" he scrubbed his hand through his unruly mop of hair and hissed in aggravation, saying, "I just wish we had more time."

"Time comes for us all. The only exception to that rule is you," she told him gently. Aku shut his eyes in momentary denial, before opening them and fixing the woman with a soft, surprisingly affectionate gaze.

"There's nothing to forgive, love," he told her. This time, he meant it with every fiber of his being.

At his words the old woman reached her hand out, and Aku caught Alice's hand in his own and carried it gently, almost reverently. There were tears of sadness collecting in Alice's eyes, echoes of things that she wanted, needed to say, but didn't have the time to do so. Aku didn't say anything and just sat, waiting for the woman to pour her heart out.

"Sorry, at the end of my road and I can't even tell you what I want to say," Alice told him, wiping at her eyes with her other hand. Aku's expression, patient and endearing, still managed to quirk a smile at her words.

"You don't have to say anything, really. All that matters is that I have my Alice back," he told her. It was left unspoken how long he would have her yet.

Alice sniffed, stood up from her chair and collapsed into the grey-eyed man's lap, burying her face into his shirt. She didn't so much as cry as she just laid there, soaking in his scent and trying to find comfort in his presence.

"Cheshire's gone, and everyone, everyone's gone. Even our world has moved on without us, growing and blossoming into new shapes and directions. They don't need us anymore," Alice told him, finally. Aku buried his face into her hair, breathing deeply, eyes closed.

"That's the thing about your children. They eventually move on without you," he murmured into her hair. Just the scent of her brought back all the feelings that he had repressed all these two hundred, long years that he had been without her.

"I'm scared. Both this world and our world are moving on without me, none of my friends and family is alive anymore, and I just feel so alone and weak; I don't know what's waiting for me on the other side, and that scares me. I just want someone to be here with me in the end, telling me that it'll be all right and making me feel all warm and _loved_," she admitted to him.

"I know, I know," it was a big thing, death. Hardly anyone actually wanted to _die_ alone. It was a common fear, of anyone from any point of time in history. His quiet assurances that he'd "stay" were left unanswered as Alice eventually nodded off.

Aku stayed with Alice the whole night, whispering gently to her whenever she'd wake up, and then sit and watch her as she nodded off, dreading every moment she shut her eyes, and feeling euphoria when her eyes opened once more.

That morning Aku set the pyre and burned the dead body of his old love. Alice was at peace now. He had made sure of it. He had stoically watched as the Angel of Death had carried his old love to the ethers, being assured by the slightly intimidated spirit of death that she was to experience bliss for her life of otherwise sainthood.

Confident that Alice would experience the happiness that he had been unable to give her in life, Aku collected her ashes and set up gathering Alice's worldly possessions and then set about putting her affairs to order. He knew that she had a family in a remote region of the British/Scottish islands, and thought that they'd do for a place to keep his old love's last remaining connections to this world, as well as having them take care of anything that he might have missed.

After a brief meeting with the head of the household, the family agreed to take Alice's things into their bank, and under his wishes they agreed to set about ordering everything so that the day a suitable heir was found that Alice's worldly things and knowledge would be passed.

Once this was clear, Aku made haste with Alice's urn, both to deliver her ashes to their final resting place, as well as to remove his self from that family. He couldn't stand magic, Alice having been a pleasant exception.

A quick trip to the moon allowed him to put her ashes to rest the way she wanted: always looking down at her beautiful, blue planet.

A small, sad smile titled his lips, a look of remembrance passing over his handsome face as he remembered the only time that he had taken Alice to the moon. After that brief foray down memory lane, Aku took one final trip to meet his old pal John who was likely also due to kick the bucket sometime soon, as well.

Both Aku and John talked a bit, reminiscing days long past and friends long gone. Eventually, Aku managed to pull himself from his friend, John waving his last goodbye, both knowing that they wouldn't see each other ever again. Then Aku simply faded into the air, as if he had never been.

But this was merely the beginning…

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XXX

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The predawn hours were quiet on that little street. When Aku appeared so suddenly on the street corner it came to no fanfare. Aku stumbled, briefly, as if he was quite positively smashed, before righting himself and giving a look round the street. He blinked at the little sign that read "Privet Drive" before brushing a hand through his blonde locks in a sign of aggravation.

"Alright, alright, yeh ol' bat, where the hell did you drop me now?" he asked to no one. If anyone saw him talking to himself they might have thought him a might bit daft.

Reality seemed to take slight offense to his words, as the predawn sky suddenly turned a rather mute shade of red, and the moon juggled uselessly in the sky. The blonde man seemed to take this in stride, waving away the concerns of reality.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah; moving on?" he questioned. Reality seemed to realize quite suddenly that the man had a point, as everything switched back to the way it was in an instant. "Now," Aku said, clapping his hands as enthusiastically as he could afford, which was a lot considering that he was drunk, "where do you want me?"

Gold particles spilled down from the sky, sweeping through the street. Aku watched these gold flecks with a keen eye, never blinking as the particles headed for a specific house on the street. Even before the particles arrived at the house, he knew what they wanted. The small blue bundle lying on the doorstep brought a frightening start to the man; but like a squirrel that knew the snake was there to eat him, he still headed forwards towards the house.

In a matter of moments he was standing over the stoop of the house, watching as the gold particles gently caressed the hidden baby inside the bundle. He raised a dark eyebrow, but didn't give much thought to the particles' actions.

"So, I get it," he told the air, motioning to the bundle, "Some snot nosed infant was left on a doorstep and has a 'great' destiny to fill. Right, that's understandable. What isn't, however, is what you want me to do about it," he explained.

The sky rumbled, though there was no sign of a cloud in the sky. Aku briefly looked up, before turning his attention back to the baby with wide, alarmed eyes.

"No – no, no, no, no!" he exclaimed, his voice raising several octaves and his English accent dropping off, "I'm NOT going to raise no baby! I don't care WHO he is!" the sky rumbled once more, and Aku jerked his head up to the sky, eyes narrowed dangerously, "Leave Alice out of this. I just had to bury her. Besides, I remember YOU asking me the same thing, once!"

That seemed to stop the rumbling. The sky settled, but a wind blew through the street. Aku shut his eyes as he felt the wind caressing his cheek. He felt something touch his cheek, causing him to open his eyes. There, in front of him, floating, were all the golden particles from before, except they had taken the form of a rather beautiful, golden woman, who was gently touching his cheek, with a small, sad smile on her lips.

The gold woman opened her mouth, silent words spilling from her lips that only Aku could hear. And Aku did listen, head titled as he tried to understand what the woman was telling him.

"That's…pretty serious," Aku murmured, now looking to the bundle on the stoop. Absently, he asked, "Is it even alright for me to take the boy? What about his mysterious benefactor that we've all speculated the identity of?"

A melody played on the wind as the golden woman's shoulders rolled in laughter, her beautiful face forming a wide smile. Aku's eyebrows knitted together in a show of confusion. Finally the woman's laughter ended and her mouth formed silent words.

Aku listened as the woman explained things that only they had an understanding about. Eventually, though, her words died and she knelt to caress the baby boy's face once more. Aku watched this all with guarded eyes, while his mind worked with activity.

Eventually he knelt to the ground and plucked the child up, the woman offering him a gentle smile that he ignored. Aku marched down the street, to the corner of Privet Drive, turned back to look at the house Numbered 4, and then looked to the sky.

The woman's body dissolved into the gold particles that it was made of, which proceeded to surround the man and the boy. Aku sighed heavily, mumbling to the wind, "I hope you know what you're doing. Whether or not the boy has the potential to be like us doesn't matter. It won't matter if he can't survive the trip.

The light music of the woman's laughter drifted to him on the wind, a sort of flute and saxophone sound that was gentle but spoke of sadness; and also, distantly, hope. Aku nodded, enveloped the baby in his jacket, and disappeared as if he hadn't ever been there.

No one would have believed the events that just took place, or just how important they were. All they would have seen would have been a crazy man kidnapping a boy. And in some ways, they'd be right.

But that was another time, another place…

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XXX

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10 years later…

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XXX

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Hermione Granger had been so looking forwards to coming to Hogwarts.

Growing up, Hermione had always known that she was different. At least, the bullies in her old schools seemed intent on reminding her of that. However, when she received her Hogwarts letter, and the Charms Professor Filius Flitwick showed up to introduce her to the Wizarding World, Hermione had thought she had finally found a place where she could belong. She thought that she'd finally be able to make friends here.

Naturally, you can imagine her surprise, disappointment, and horror when she arrived into the Wizarding World only to be proven wrong. She had left her parents happily that morning intending on heading to the Hogwarts Express herself as her parents couldn't enter the barrier. As soon as she had entered she had spotted a gaggle of young girl's in green accented cloaks talking on the platform. Even the fact that they were older than her didn't bother Hermione much. All she knew was that this was her chance to finally make some friends; and so she approached the girls.

Which made their rejection all the harder on her. The girls weren't even nice about it, berating her and insulting her with names that she didn't understand. It had left the bushy haired girl nearly in tears and she had quickly fled the girls least she cry, and into the train.

She dedicated her time to trying to find a compartment to sit, while also trying to push her erratic feelings away so she could concentrate. While there weren't a whole lot of kids milling about the train, it was still full enough to have one person in every room. Hermione was almost tempted to giving up on all this nonsense and head back to her parents, but decided to give this friendship bit one last try.

The compartment that she settled on had only one person in it, someone who had their face buried in a rugby magazine. She could only see a little of the person from behind the magazine, but she could tell that the person was a boy and had flaming red hair.

"Eh, excuse me; may I sit?" Hermione asked the boy. A pair of green eyes peeked at her from over the top of the magazine.

"'lo, who might yeh be?" the boy asked in a thick accent, folding the magazine and tucking it under his arm. He rose from the seat and ushered the girl in, saying, "O' course, O' course, c'mon, c'mon," and offered her a large, silly grin that made Hermione blush in a mixture of shy embarrassment and pleased warmth.

"'Ello, I'm Hermione, Hermione Granger," Hermione said, offering him her hand once her luggage was stowed in the overhead and she sat on the seat. The boy took her hand into his and shook vigorously, as if he was far too excited to contain himself. Still, Hermione smiled at the boy's easy attitude, asking, "What's your name?"

"Call meh Red, ev'ryone does," the boy said, and Hermione's eyes flickered to the boy's red hair. Red grinned, not troubled by the girl's reaction, saying, "Yah, ev'ryone does that."

"I'm sorry…but Red?" she wanted clarification. It seemed a terrible crime for his parents to name him after his hair color. He grinned cheekily.

"Eh, I 'magine I'll have 'nother name by the time the sorting's done with," he told her. He eyed her thoughtfully, asking, "What house do'yeh think yer going tah be in?" he asked her.

"Oh, I couldn't say. All the houses sound fantastic. Well, all but Slytherine. I don't know if I'd much enjoy being a Slytherine," she admitted. She frowned thoughtfully, saying, "Though I might enjoy Ravenclaw the most," she told him, quietly, as if she was afraid of what he might think.

Smiling, Red brushed ahead, saying, "Really? I guess yeh might be right; yeh like books?" he asked. Hermione's eyes flickered to the magazine stuck between his arms, tempted to deny his words but eventually nodded.

"Yeah," she said.

"That's all right. I have a brother who meh family thinks is going tah be in Ravenclaw. Maybe yeh'll meet him when we get tah H'gwarts," he told her. Hermione smiled, pleased that the boy wasn't offended that she enjoyed books.

"Really, what's his name?" she asked.

Grinning cheekily, in a way that suggested that he was going to enjoy the next moments, the boy said, "Blue."

"Excuse me?" Hermione questioned, wondering if she had heard right.

"Meh brother's name is Blue. Smartest git around, he is. But smart, mad smart," he winked at her, whispering, "but a bit of an airhead."

"Really…how is that?" she questioned.

"Ah, yeh'know, he's so obsessed with 'logic' and 'science' that he tends tah ignore ev'rything else," he explained. Red sighed heavily, as if he was remembering something truly tragic, before muttering, "I can't tell yah how many times we've had tah pull 'em out of ah scrap. He tends tah fly off at the mouth, that one."

Hermione giggled at the tone the strange boy used, feeling surprisingly at ease despite the horrible start of the day. Settling back in the seat, Hermione asked, "Do you have any more brothers? What about sisters?"

Red motioned around them, saying, "Aye, I have three more brothers. No sisters, though," he told the girl.

"Really?" being a lonely child, Hermione couldn't imagine what it was like living in a family with four brothers. Instead of following up on that question, though, she asked, "Is anyone of them going to Hogwarts besides Blue and you?"

Red nodded sagely, saying, "Aye, Green, Gold, and Silver are all going tah Hogwarts with meh and Blue. Maybe yeh'll get tah meet them later?" he asked her.

Hermione nodded, "I'd like that. Your family sounds terribly fascinating," she smiled from ear to ear, which was mirrored by Red's smile.

Just as Hermione was about to attempt starting another conversation the door to the compartment opened and a mopey boy trudged into the room. Dejectedly, as if he expected them to deny him, the boy asked, "Can I sit here?"

Red grinned, glancing to Hermione, before exclaiming, "O'course, o'course, c'mon, c'mon!" and ushered the boy in.

The boy nodded gratefully as Red took his luggage and stashed it into the overhead. Then the three of them sat back down, the boy offering his hand to Red and then Hermione, saying, "Hi, I'm Neville Longbottom."

Hermione smiled, suddenly feeling as she had nothing to fear from Hogwarts anymore. Opening her mouth, the girl said, "Hello Neville, I'm Hermione Granger, and this is…"

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XXX

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Padma Patil was as unlike her sister Parvati Patil as she could be. Whereas Parvati was very outspoken and energetic, not afraid to speak her mind, Padma was very shy, and closed lipped about her feelings and thoughts. She also tended to stick to herself, not looking to make friends with others, though her sister usually dragged her along, anyways.

Being the quiet one, Padma had spent most of the morning tending to her own business while being dragged along by her sister. The brief trip from their home in Wales was spent in quiet contemplation of the year ahead of her. Once the two twins arrived at Platform 9 3/4, Parvati made it especially apparent that she couldn't wait to clamber onto the red train and get to Hogwarts to start the year. Because of this, their goodbyes were slightly rushed, and as soon as Padma had told her parents her own parting words she was being pulled along by the wrist by her anxious sister.

Even as they cut through the crowds Parvati was loudly talking about the year ahead of them, and of course her favorite subject, boys. Because of this, they managed to pick up a few tagalongs by the names of Lavendor Brown and Lisa Turpin, two girls that seemed especially fond of the subject of boys, just like Parvati. Padma watched all this with disinterested eyes, more interested in finding a cabin for the lot of them to stay.

Most of the cabins in the train were filled to capacity, though there were a few that were very nearly empty. However the noise and activity in those cabins made Padma put a halt on her sister's plans, refusing to head into a noisy compartment.

Eventually, the group found a cabin that only housed one person. It was a boy with neat dark hair, square glasses, and dressed impeccably in a blue pinstripe suit. He was also in the midst of reading a book with the title of "Physics for the Enquiring", and despite the sheer size of the volume, he was very nearly through the entirety of the book.

Of course Parvati and the other two were delighted at this, brushing into the room quickly and proclaiming, "Hi, I'm Parvati Patil, these are Lavendor Brown and Lisa Turpin," then she motioned to Padma, saying, "and this is my sister, Padma Patil," and Padma raised an eyebrow as the boy raised a long finger, motioning them to wait.

A second later the boy shut his book with a clap, arching a thin eyebrow at them. A sophisticated voice spilled from his lips as he proclaimed, "Hello, Parvati, Lavender, Lisa, Padma. So glad to meet you," his voice was silky and rich, completely at odds with his youthful face.

"Delighted," Parvati mentioned. The boy stood, taking Parvati's hand in his palm and lightly touched her knuckles with his lips. The three boy crazy girls all giggled something fierce, and at their voices the boy raised a fine eyebrow of silent inquiry.

"So…who might you be?" Lavender asked with interest shining in her eyes. The boy turned vibrant, green eyes to the blonde, something hidden in his gaze.

"Ah, that," the boy intoned, as if realizing that they expected him to introduce himself. He blinked, tilting his head, saying, "You may call me 'Blue'."

The three girls shared a look while Padma bit back a snort. The boy turned to her now, one eyebrow raised in quiet speculation. At his look Padma knew that she had been thrust into the limelight, so began to speak.

"Well…it's just, Blue. I can't see how your parents would be sadistic enough to name you after a color," she told him. The boy smiled, thinly.

"I suspect that I'll have another name come the sorting," he intoned enigmatically, a certain air of hidden knowledge and humor hanging around him.

"I…see…" Padma drawled. If the boy wasn't in the mood to tell her his real name, then she wasn't in the mood to pry. Though it seemed that her sister and her friends hadn't yet realized that "Blue" wasn't the boy's real name.

The boy's eyes turned to the luggage that the girls were carrying. Briefly, a look of quiet contemplation passed over his face before he said, "Here, I shall help you four put up your luggage," though the expression that he wore didn't seem like he was all that interested in helping them, or to have them standing in the same space as him.

Parvati grinned widely, proclaiming, "Great, here!" and thrust her trunk at him. The boy merely grunted before tucking the trunk into the stow cabinet and then doing the same with Lavender's, Lisa's, and then Padma's trunks.

Together, the group sat down on the benches, Parvati, Lavender and Lisa on one end and Blue and Padma on another end. This suited Padma just fine, as the boy didn't seem to pay much attention to anyone, instead opting to dig back into his book. In reply to this, Padma mirrored him, pulling out the book that she had been carrying the whole day and burying her nose in it.

However, Parvati seemed ill at ease letting the silence wane on, and soon the three girls started an energetic conversation. It was loud and fast, and Padma tried her best to ignore it. But still, she was brought out of her conversation when Lavender asked the boy, "What house do you think you're going to be in? I think Gryffindor might be nice, though Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff wouldn't be _too_ bad… what do you think?"

The boy shut his book with another loud clap, eying the girl with an arched eyebrow and examining her thoroughly. Then, tilting his head, the boy said, "Curious."

"What's curious?" Lisa asked, but Padma already had an idea on what he was talking about.

Blue's eyes briefly flashed to Lisa in regards to her words, before moving back to Lavender. Then he glanced at Parvati who was eagerly waiting, and Padma who had an ear turned to hear what he had to say. Sighing, the boy pushed himself back into the seat and proclaimed, "I had no idea that houses were such an important topic. Surely you can see that the houses are pointless and do more to hinder the students' social skills then to help?"

"I don't think I follow." Parvati told him. Surprised at what the boy had said, Padma eagerly awaited the boy's counter argument. Blue crossed his legs and folded his hands over his top knee.

"Not only is separating students into houses a waste of time and energy, because the same thing can be gotten from dorms, but the separation of houses causes an unhealthy rivalry to spring up between the students from different houses," he told them, continuing by way of saying, "But if children were separated at random into dorms this would not only encourage inter school social gatherings, but would help to fill up the school and take congestion out of the 'house' dorms by allowing the students to gather in smaller dorms, meaning less space is taken up."

"Yeah, but they don't do that," Lavender chimed in. The boy shut his eyes and heaved a loud, tired sigh, pushing up his glasses with one long finger.

"Sadly, yes," the boy told them. Padma cracked a smile. Blue was definitely amusing, though Parvati, Lavender and Lisa didn't seemed to share that thought, still trying to wrap their heads around what he had just spoken of.

"So you're going to be in Ravenclaw then, I take it?" Parvati asked, coming to this conclusion quickly enough, having been impressed by the boy's sophisticated vocabulary and counter argument.

"There's a great likelihood that I will be, yes," he told them, nodding his head. Parvati straightened up self-importantly.

"Well, I'm going to be in Gryfinndor," though, lowly, the girl muttered, "I hope." It looked as if the girl was struggling with some insecurity herself.

"I'm probably going to be in Ravenclaw, myself," Lisa pushed in. They all turned their attention to Padma, even the boy did.

"What?" Padma asked, startled to be on the spotlight.

"She's probably going to be in Ravenclaw, yeah," Parvati told them, motioning to her blushing twin, "she's always got her nose in a book."

Blue examined the book clutched in her grip thoroughly. The book itself was a book on astronomy. He nodded, saying, "It looks as much," he then offered her his hand, and Padma took it a little hesitantly. The boy offered a small, confident smile, saying "A pleasure."

"Thank you," Padma told him, blushing to her roots. She could see that Parvati was grinning from ear to ear.

* * *

XXX

* * *

Susan Bones and Hanna Abbott were longtime friends. Hanna's parents were a family friend of Ameila Bones, Susan's aunt and caretaker. So, naturally, the two girls had gravitated towards each other over the years and become strong friends. And the moment that they had arrived to Platform 9 ¾ they had clamored clumsily onto the red train and begun looking for a cabin for their own.

Of course, the train was unbearably full, fuller then their aunt had said it would be. It seemed that there were more students attending Hogwarts this year then recorded in recent history. It made finding a reasonably nice cabin all the more difficult.

But still, they found a quiet little cabin near the back of the train with only one person previously occupying it. This was a small, mousy boy with brown hair, green eyes, wearing a bandage clapped over one cheek, and a pencil jammed behind his ear. In his lap he carried a sketchpad, which he was furiously scribbling in. Hanna, being the more outgoing of the two girls, coughed loudly to get his attention.

"'Ello, do you mind if me and my friend share this cabin with you?" Hanna questioned the boy. Wide eyed, the boy looked to the girl with a nearly horrified expression on his face. Both girls stood waiting for his answer, the silence stretching on for several minutes. Finally, when Hanna was just about ready to turn around and began their search again the frightened boy seemed to collect himself before nodding timidly.

"Great! Susan, let's get our luggage up in the overhead stow, all right?" the two girls set about tucking their trunks away in the overhead stow area, the boy continuing to watch them with wide eyes and a pale face. Eventually, the two girls claimed a seat on the bench opposite the boy.

The boy looked at Hanna and Susan, Susan and Hanna looked at boy. The silence stretched on for several minutes, awkward and uncomfortable as Hanna tried to think of a way to break the ice. Finally, grinning, Hanna said, "Hi, I'm Hanna, this is Susan. What's your name?"

The boy seemed to be alarmed that she was persisting to talk to him, shuffling in his seat awkwardly. Finally, unable to ignore her question, the boy squeaked, "Gold."

Susan, examining the boy's gold trimmed beige slacks and vest drawled, "We can see that."

At the boy's nearly terrified expression Hanna said, "Hush, Susan. I'm sorry, but what's your name?"

Collecting himself, the boy said, "Gold. My name is Gold." Both Hanna and Susan adopted a perplexed expression at his words.

"Your name is actually Gold," Hanna asked incredulously. "Who name's their kid 'Gold'?"

The boy fidgeted, before claiming, "Well…I could be getting a different name when we get to Hogwarts…"

Hanna and Susan shared a glance. They both knew that they just had to learn more…

* * *

XXX

* * *

Being that they hailed from three neutral wizarding families, and that everyone expected them to join the Slytherine house, they had naturally banded together from the moment they had laid eyes on each other in the train. Both Daphne Greengrass and Tracey Davis were old friends; however, Blaise Zabini was relatively unknown to him. However, the Zabini family, like the Greengrass and Davis families, was neutral, and the children of the families knew enough about the other pureblood families to spot the children of a neutral family.

Meeting in the corridors of the train, Blaise offered a truce for the foreseeable future. He, like them, didn't look forward to staying in a house mostly run by pureblood supremacists. He told them quite clearly that if they banded together that they had a better chance of avoiding needless confrontations with their future housemates. That decided, the group of three went in search of a cabin to spend their ride on the train.

Together they explored the train, searching for an empty cabin. Unfortunately, the train was overflowing with students, meaning that they had a better chance of sneaking into Gringotts then they did for finding an empty cabin. So instead, the three settled on a relatively empty cabin, with only one boy occupying the cabin to speak of.

The boy was a strange mixture of contradictions. His hair was blonde, with the front and top of his hair spiking up fiercely, and the back spilling down the back of his neck in wild strands. His eyes were a vibrant green, and his face bore a mild look of quiet contemplation as he stared out the window. To top everything off, the boy wore a silver trimmed green suit, and carried a cane loosely in his hands.

"'Scuse me," Tracey pushed into the room, drawing the boy's eyes to her. "Would it be alright if we were to share this cabin with you?" Slytherines, particularly the spoiled children of the last generation, were not known for their manners. However, being from three neutral families, and one being a half blood, the three of them had manners shoved deeply into their heads, even if they didn't always follow them.

The blonde tilted his head thoughtfully, humming. He then motioned to the seat across from him with his cane, saying, "Of course; please, do help yourselves," Tracey nodded, and the other two followed her into the cabin with their luggage trailing behind them.

With a bit of work, Blaise managed to get his luggage and the luggage the two girls carried into the overhead stowage area. Then the three of them sat on the seat opposite of the blonde boy in the Slytherine colored suit.

For a few minutes the three stared at the boy, and he stared right back with a bored expression worn plainly on his face. Eventually, Tracey couldn't take the quiet and blurted, "Hi, I'm Tracey Davis."

The boy tilted his head forwards in the tiniest of nods, saying, "Charmed."

Blaise extended his hand and the boy politely shook with the darker skinned boy. "Blaise Zabini," he offered. The blonde boy tilted his head at an angle, before nodding in understanding.

"And you?" Daphne raised an eyebrow at the question directed at her. The boy continued on, anyways, despite her relatively lack of reaction. "And you would be?"

"Daphne Greengrass," Daphne supplied quietly. The boy nodded, and folded his hands over the handle of his cane, staring at the three children without any hint as to his thoughts.

Eventually, Tracey couldn't take the quiet anymore and said, "So, I'm probably going to be in Slytherine, but Daphne told me that I'd be in Gryffindor. You don't think I'll be in Gryffindor, do you?" she took a breath, having not breathed during her whole speech. The blonde raised an eyebrow.

"Hardly," the boy drawled.

Daphne narrowed her eyes, calculating. Then, with a certain bit of rudeness, the dark haired girl questioned, "And how do you know that?"

The blonde turned his attention to Daphne, examining her with a critical eye that made the girl slightly uncomfortable. Finally, the boy stated simply, "I have a knack for stuff like that." Tracey breathed in relief, but Daphne didn't seem to be satisfied by his answer.

"I'm sorry," though she didn't sound sorry, "what was your name."

"Green," the boy drawled, sounding unimpressed.

"What?" Tracey asked, blinking, "Sorry, I mean…WHAT?" she obviously didn't understand what he meant by that.

"My name," he sounded mildly annoyed that he had to repeat himself. "My name is Green."

"Of course," now it was Daphne's time to sound unimpressed. However, Blaise snorted in good humor.

"Geese and I thought my parents were bad," Blaise muttered, trying to maintain some politeness despite holding back snickers of mirth. Tracey awkwardly patted the dark skinned boy on the shoulder, unsure of what she herself should be doing at this news.

"Naturally," Green declared, his voice sounding unamused, "it's not my real name. However, only certain people are allowed to hear my real name. So, naturally, pseudonyms were picked for my 'brothers' and me. I should imagine that come the sorting, I'll have a new 'nick name' to be called," he told them. Daphne arched a fine eyebrow in speculation. Tracey seemed fascinated by this, though, and even Blaise seemed mildly interested in how this system worked.

"Is that so?" Daphne drawled, "And why do you refuse to let other people know your names?"

"The old adage," the boy held up a long finger, a smirk rising to his lips that looked almost like it belonged there, "'Names are power', and I certainly don't want my enemies having power. No, I feel holding back such information is the best course," Green gave a decisive nod, and settled back against his seat.

"Yup, you'll definitely be in Slytherine," Tracey declared suddenly, slapping a closed hand into her open palm. She seemed so sure by this that she didn't even bat and eyelash as the group turned their attention to her. Seeing their even looks, she said, "What? Doesn't he just 'scream' Slytherine to you?"

"It could be a ploy," Blaise offered, but he didn't sound much convinced. At the snort of disbelief that Daphne offered Blaise relented, "Okay, maybe not."

"You can't fake arrogance," Daphne shot back to the boy known as Green. Said boy merely raised an eyebrow at her claim.

"I'm touched," he drawled.

"We're all probably going to wind up in Slytherine. Most of our families did, so it's expected," Blaise offered as explanation. The boy raised a groomed eyebrow. "Still, being in another house might be better though, as sick as the thought makes me. At least then we'd be out of the Death Eater wannabe's watch list," then, seeming to catch what he just said, Blaise said, "I don't know why I just told you that. I don't suppose you aren't one of You-Know-Who's followers, are you?"

"I have one of those faces," Green told him, before saying, "and no, I do not support Voldemort." The three teens flinched as the name left the boys lips.

"Oh good," and Blaise relaxed. Both Daphne and Tracey followed suit, having tensed up when Blaise spilled the proverbial beans.

"Still, being in a light sided house might not be the best thing, though. Most people look at the neutral families as if they supported the dark side just because we didn't help the light sided families during the war," Tracey admitted, looking sour.

"Don't worry," Green told them, and though his face was blank, his eyes were surprisingly gentle. "I may be against Voldemort," here the teens flinched again, "but I won't hold it against you for being from neutral families. I respect the fact that people have a right to choose for themselves, and if your families didn't want any part of the war, that's up to them. Far be it from me to accuse them of anything untoward."

The three future Slytherines shared a glance, and Blaise asked, "Uh, could you NOT say his name?" Green waved his concerns off.

"Fearing a name only gives the fear more power over you. Fearing the man and his deeds, on the other hand, is smart. It shows that you have logic enough to run when the need arises. However, fearing the name is pointless, and shameful. The name cannot hurt you, so buck up. Especially since his name means 'Flight from Death'," the boy told them. "It seems to me that he had a lot more things to fear then us."

"Still, could you not say it?" Blaise muttered. Green nodded his head.

"I shall endeavor to stop, if it bothers you three that much," he told them.

They settled into a much more companionable silence, Green going back to looking out the window and Tracey and Blaise holding a quiet conversation between the two of them. From her spot on the seat, Daphne watched the blonde haired boy thoughtfully, her eyes calculating.

Eventually, Daphne whispered, so quietly that the others couldn't possibly hear her, "You interest me, Green. I hope you're prepared for what's next," only, despite the fact that she whispered this, Green's head still turned to her, an almost judgmental glint in his eyes, almost as if he could hear her.

* * *

XXX

* * *

At the very back of the train, a silver haired boy sat patiently. He was odd, as though his hair was mostly tidy and smoothed down, falling in long strands down his back, a few of his bangs stuck out in wild spikes. He had vibrant green eyes, fierce, and expressive, and a pale, handsome face. He was relatively tall for his age, with lean muscle and very little body fat. Over his body he wore a simple white suit, with matching dress pants, vest, and overcoat. And tucked away in his coat's front pocket was a silver fog watch, which he'd pull out of his suit's pocket every few moments to check the time.

He didn't seem to mind that no one had gathered in the cabin with him, or the quiet of the cabin. Only, it wasn't so quiet, as ears honed from years of proper training allowed him to hear the whispers on the wind, feel the planet turning on its axis, see the pathways of time, smell the possibilities of the future, and taste the echoes of the past. If anyone were to look at this boy, they would think that he was an especially strange boy, even amongst the people on this train. And he would not deny it, either.

Loudly, though, his train of thought was broken as the door to his cabin was jerked opened and three bodies came tumbling into the cabin. Two of the people that spilled into the cabin were red haired and appeared to be related, due to their identical appearances. The other boy that had fallen into the cabin with the two brothers was a dark skinned boy that had a mischievous face.

The three boys clamored to their feet, and one of the red heads said, "Sorry about that…"

And the other continued where he left off, saying, "Bit of trouble with a prefect…"

And the other, "So if you wouldn't mind…"

"We'd like to sit with you."

The silver haired boy stared at the lot of them, before nodding and motioning to the seat. The three boys grinned, and hurried to claim the offered seat. Each of the boys extended their hands to shake, which the silver haired boy did, quietly.

"So now that we've gone and stumbled on your feet," one of the red heads said.

"Why don't you tell us your name," the other finished.

The silver haired boy thought about it briefly, before nodding and saying, "Silver."

All three of the boys blinked, uncertain what the boy meant by that. Eventually, they grinned cheekily, exclaiming, "Right-o!"

The dark skinned boy motioned to himself, saying, "I'm Lee Jordon," and then motioning to one of the red heads he said, "And this is Fred," and to the other he said, "and this is George Weasley."

"No we're not," the one called 'George' said, looking affronted, "I'm Fred…"

"And I'M George," the one previously known as 'Fred' proclaimed.

Lee grimaced, startled that he had mistaken the two. Rushing ahead, he said, "Sorry, sorry. Alright, well, 'he's' Fred," he motioned to the 'new' Fred, "and 'he's' George," and he motioned to the new George.

"Actually," 'George' said, looking thoughtful.

"You had us right the first time," 'Fred' proclaimed.

"Sorry," they both chirped.

Lee smacked himself in the forehead, looking incredibly annoyed. Silver chuckled at their reactions.

"So, we've scanned this whole train and realized that there's a whole lot of first years," Fred told Silver conspiratorially.

In an equally suspicious voice, George said, "And we realized that we hadn't ever seen you before… meaning…" he lead on.

"You're a first year!" the two red heads laughed together.

"Quite right, quite right," Silver chuckled, his voice rich with an US accent. "Though I really don't see why it's such a big deal." He briefly flicked open his fog watch and took a look at it, then shut it up and tucked it away. The three other boys examined this with keen eyes.

"Why, it matters so much," George said.

"Because this is the year you'll be sorted!" Fred finished.

"Yes, yes, I know all that already," Silver leaned back, studying the three older boys, before admitting, "I can't say I'm looking forward to it."

"Aw," said Fred.

"Is ickle firsty afraid of winding up in the wrong house?" said George.

"Don't worry," continued Fred.

"I'm sure," lead George.

"It'll be a marvelous surprise!"

As Silver opened his mouth to reply, the door was jerked opened and three first years stepped in. The two on the sides were big and didn't seem to pack a lot of brains, looking more like golems than children. The middle boy, however, was small, with blonde hair and wore a sneer.

"I heard a rumor that Harry Potter would be on this train this year," the boy began, marching right along in a rude tone, "have you seen him?"

"Actually, no," said Fred.

"At least," continued George.

"We don't think so!" they exclaimed in unison. Silver chuckled, knowing right away that the blond git thought it was right annoying the way the two Weasley brothers talked.

"Oh, it's YOUR family," the blonde spat, looking offended, "I heard about your lot. The Weasley's still managing to scrap by then? Fat lot of good that'll do you," he insulted.

Instead of looking offended, both Fred and George Weasley grinned viscously. And in the next few moments they had hexed the lot of three would-be-death-eaters out of the room. Lee whistled, and even Silver nodded his head in surprised delight.

"Now that," said Fred, looking mighty proud of himself.

"Is how we take out the trash…" said George.

* * *

XXX

* * *

"Firs' years, firs' years, this way please!" the loud voice carried over the many heads of elven year old wannabe wizards and witches.

"Wow, he's big!" Hermione babbled excitedly. Red smiled, getting behind a couple of first year boys while Hermione continued speaking. "I wonder if he has any giant in him."

"You think?" Neville asked, worriedly. Red smiled, patting the boy's back as they continued down to the lake. Out of the corner of his eye the red head spotted Blue heralding a group of first year's girls behind him.

"D'sn't matter," Red told the two of them, nodding his head decisively, "He is what he is." Hermione giggled at his confident tone of voice.

"Four to'a boat! Four to'a boat! Hurry now!" the giant called, ushering the kids into the boat. Red caught the eye of his brother Blue, and Blue motioned to one of the girls into his boat.

Nudging Hermione and Neville, Red told them, "It looks like we're gointa' have company. Look lively…" at the prompting of the three girls in Blue's group, one of the blonde girls marched over to their group, a sour expression on her face.

"Sorry," the girl said, moodily, sitting down in the boat with them, "the others are full."

"There seems to be a lot of that this year," Hermione claimed, looking thoughtful. She then smiled to the girl, saying, "Hi, I'm Hermione Granger. Who are you?"

"Lavender Brown," the girl informed them, looking annoyed. She then looked to the two boys in their group, asking, "You are?"

"Neville Longbottom," Neville mumbled shyly.

Red grinned from ear to ear, saying, "My name's Red," at his words Lavender snorted.

"You're related to Blue, aren't you?" at Red's widening grin, the girl sighed, saying, "Thought so."

The boats drifted down the lake, as if they were possessed by spirits, or controlled by, well, magic. Upon seeing that they didn't have to worry about steering the boat, as the boat seemed to know perfectly well where it was going, Hermione asked, "You've met Blue? What's he like?"

"Wordy and a bit of a brain," Lavender informed them, noticing the way Red's grin stretched across his face, "not anything at all like this hunk here," she purred, suddenly noticing the blossoming muscles that corded Red's young body. If it was even possible, Red's grin stretched even further.

"Oh please, don't stroke his ego any further," Hermione rolled her eyes at the male pride shining in Red's eyes. Then, thoughtfully, she said, "I'm even more curious now that I've heard a bit about this Blue from someone else."

"Go ahead, doll, he's a bit much for me. Fun, yeah, but half the time I'm trying to understand what he's talking about," Hermione eyed the girl a bit, and realized that, yes; she seemed a bit like the stereotypical beach blonde. Therefore, it wasn't that surprising to see that she couldn't understand Blue if he was even half as smart as Red made him out to be. Of course, since Red seemed more like the brawn type then brains, it wasn't that surprising that Red thought Blue was a genius.

As the boats all pulled out from under an overhanging of trees and rubble, they were all suddenly greeted to the sight of the Hogwarts castle for the first time. Back dropped against a full moon, the castle seemed even more impressive than they had heard.

Complete with large turrets, high walls, tall towers, and swooping roofs, the castle looked like it came off of a painting rather than being a physical entity. Red's group observed this with surprised, fascinated eyes. Eventually, the boats pulled up to the shoreline blocking the castle from the lake, and the giant known as Hagrid urged the kids up the steep slope and towards the castle's doors.

The children waited as Hagrid raised a gigantic fist and knocked three times on the castle door.

The doors swung open at once. A tall, black-haired witch in emerald-green robes stood there. She had a very stern face and Red's first thought was that this was not someone to cross.

"The firs' years, Professor McGonagall," said Hagrid.

"Thank you, Hagrid. I will take them from here."

She pulled the door wide. The entrance hall was big. The stone walls were lit with flaming torches, the ceiling was too high to make out, and a magnificent marble staircase facing them led to the upper floors.

They followed Professor McGonagall across the flagged stone floor. Red could hear the drone of hundreds of voices from a doorway to the right – the rest of the school must already be here – but Professor McGonagall showed the first years into a small, empty chamber off the hall. They crowded in, standing rather closer together than they would usually have done, peering about nervously.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," said McGonagall. "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your Houses. The sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your House will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your House, sleep in your House dormitory, and spend free time in your House common room.

"The four Houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each House has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your House points, while any rule breaking will lose House points. At the end of the year, the House with the most points is awarded the House Cup, a great honor. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever House becomes yours.

"The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting."

Her eyes lingered for a moment on Neville's cloak, which was fastened under his left ear, and on another red headed boy's smudged nose.

"I shall return when we are ready for you," said Professor MeGonagall. "Please wait quietly."

She left the chamber and all was silent.

It wasn't quiet for long.

"Are you SURE you're not Harry Potter?" Red watched as a blonde haired boy (the same one that had approached their group in the train) pushed himself towards Blue. Red snorted quietly, and Hermione shot him an accusing stare. He arched an eyebrow, not impressed. She huffed.

"No," Blue shot that notion down, causing the tension that had rose in the crowd of children to flood out. Instead of offering his name Blue proceeded to bury his face in his physics book. Seeing the book that the boy was reading, being in the right place to read the title of said book, Hermione clamored excitedly to Red.

"That's Blue, isn't it!" Hermione urged him. Red nodded, smiling.

"Are you sure?" the blonde pushed himself up close to the boy, forcing Blue to take a step back at the other boy's close proximity to his person.

"He already told you no, Malfoy, so leave him alone," Red watched as a girl who likely had roots in Indian defended his brother. The boy, Malfoy, sneered at the girl before swirling around and marching to stand in front of the crowd of children.

"That's it then!" Malfoy proclaimed loudly, raising his hands over his head, "this just proves that Harry Potter's dead!"

"You can't prove that!" the same Indian girl exclaimed, looking violent.

"Then why isn't he here?" Malfoy questioned with a smirk on his face. He motioned around him, saying, "We all know that he was written down to attend Hogwarts since he was a baby. So why isn't he here then?" he asked. Then, raising a finger he proclaimed, "Because You-Know-Who killed him, that's why!"

"That's not true, and you know it, Malfoy!" the girl was nearly shouting now. In the crowd Red could spot all his other brothers mucking about, hidden amongst all the teens enraptured by the argument taking place. Most of his brothers didn't look surprised by these accusations, or even that they remotely cared, all except for Gold, who was whimpering quietly as a red headed girl and a brunette rubbed his back consolingly; but considering that Gold was frightened of everything that really wasn't anything unexpected.

"Then where is he? Where is your savior?" he pointed at her, saying, "I'll tell you where, dead!"

"That's not true!" the girl shouted, "Dumbledore said so!"

That seemed to win over a lot of people, but the blonde git still had more to say.

"And you'd trust what Dumbledore says? Ha! That man has gone senile! He doesn't know what he's talking about! Of course You-Know-Who killed him! How could an infant defeat him?" Red was just about ready to intervene when someone else did.

"Then where is he? Where is this…Voldemort?" a smooth voice purred from the front of the crowd. Nearly the whole crowd of children jumped at the mention of the dark lord's name. It was almost amusing.

"I… I mean…what?" Malfoy stuttered. From the front of the crowd a tall figure emerged. Red recognized him as his older brother, Silver. The boy stalked towards the blonde haired boy, long silver hair draping across his shoulders and over his back, seeming to shine in the light of the full moon. Malfoy took a step back in alarm as the intimidating boy came to stand before him, towering over the other boy.

"I mean, yes, there's no proof that Harry Potter still remains among the living," Silver intoned, and just as the smirk was retaining to Malfoy's face he continued, saying, "But the same holds true for Voldemort as well," and everyone once more flinched at the name that he spoke so easily.

"I…who are you?" Malfoy asked, alarmed more then he would admit. Silver was opening his mouth to speak when someone let out a shriek, which was followed by more shrieking from the kids in the crowd. About twenty ghosts had just streamed through the back wall. Pearly-white and slightly transparent, they glided across the room talking to one another and hardly glancing at the first years. They seemed to be arguing. What looked like a fat little monk was saying: "Forgive and forget, I say, we ought to give him a second chance –"

"My dear Friar, haven't we given Peeves all the chances he deserves? He gives us all a bad name and you know, he's not really a ghost – I say, what are you all doing here?"

A ghost wearing a ruff and tights had suddenly noticed the first years.

Nobody answered.

"New students!" said the Fat Friar, smiling around at them. "About to be Sorted, I suppose?"

A few people nodded mutely.

"Hope to see you in Hufflepuff!" said the Friar. "My old House, you know."

"Move along now," said a sharp voice. "The Sorting Ceremony's about to start."

Professor McGonagall had returned. One by one, the ghosts floated away through the opposite wall.

"Now, form a line," Professor McGonagall told the first years, "and follow me."

As they were lead out of the chamber, Red reflected on all the things that his father had told him and his brothers, and the things that they needed to prepare for this year. Even with the ability to see into the future, there was much apprehension between the five boys about their goals for the year and what their father expected of them.

As the group of children pushed into the hall, Red took in the sight of the hall in one go. Even having seen it through glimpses of the future, he was still awed by the sight of the Great Hall. The hall itself was lit by thousands and thousands of candles that were floating in midair over four long tables, where the rest of the students were sitting. These tables were laid with glittering golden plates and goblets. At the top of the hall was another long table where teachers were sitting. Professor McGonagall led the first years up here, so that they came to a halt in a line facing the other students, with the teachers behind them. The hundreds of faces staring at them looked like pale lanterns in the flickering candle-light. Dotted here and there among the students, the ghosts shone misty silver. Looking up to the ceiling, Red saw a velvety black ceiling dotted with stars. From beside him he heard Hermione whisper, "It's bewitched to look like the sky outside. I read about it in Hogwarts: A History."

Red quickly looked down again as Professor McGonagall silently placed a four-legged stool in front of the first years. On top of the stool she put a pointed wizard's hat. This hat was patched and frayed and extremely dirty. His father wouldn't have stood for it.

Staring at the hat, Red waited. For a few seconds, there was complete silence. Then the hat twitched. A rip near the brim opened wide like a mouth – and the hat began to sing:

"_Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,_

_But don't judge on what you see,_

_I'll eat myself if you can find_

_A smarter hat than me._

_You can keep your bowlers black,_

_Your top hats sleek and tall,_

_For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat_

_And I can cap them all._

_There's nothing hidden in your head_

_The Sorting Hat can't see,_

_So try me on and I will tell you_

_Where you ought to be._

_You might belong in Gryffindor,_

_Where dwell the brave at heart,_

_Their daring, nerve, and chivalry_

_Set Gryffindors apart;_

_You might belong in Hufflepuff,_

_Where they are just and loyal,_

_Those patient Hufflepuffs are true and unafraid of toil;_

_Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,_

_If you've a ready mind,_

_Where those of wit and learning,_

_Will always find their kind;_

_Or perhaps in Slytherin_

_You'll make your real friends,_

_Those cunning folk use any means_

_To achieve their ends._

_So put me on! Don't be afraid!_

_And don't get in a flap!_

_You're in safe hands (though I have none)_

_For I'm a Thinking Cap!"_

The whole hall burst into applause as the hat finished its song. It bowed to each of the four tables and then became quite still again.

"So we've just got to try on the hat!" the other red head in the group claimed, "I'll kill Fred, he was going on about wrestling a troll."

Professor McGonagall now stepped forward holding a long roll of parchment.

"When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted," she said. "Abbott, Hannah!" and quite obviously it appeared as if she was using alphabetical order.

Quickly she went down the list. Some were only under the hat for a few moments, some minutes, and some, like the Malfoy boy, had only just gotten under the hat when it announced what house that they would go into. Surprisingly, both Hermione and Neville got sorted into Gryffindor, and from the bushy haired girl's expression that was both surprising and mildly annoying.

Eventually, though, they came down to the "P's" and while most still held onto the hope that Harry Potter would be somewhere in the crowd and would magically appear once his name was called, that hope was dashed when Professor McGonagall came to the end of the P's without any sign of a Potter of any kind. This, it seemed, confused the Professor calling names and the Professors at the table, and a hurried noise spilled into the hall as the students and professors began to discuss the absence of Harry Potter. Still, Red noted with some level of amusement, that every student and every Professor in the hall turned their eyes to his brother, Blue.

Finally, they came to the end of the list. Professor McGonagall seemed to study the list for several long moments, her eyes turning from the group of five brothers that had remained, waiting to be called. It seemed that she couldn't believe what she was reading. Neither could the other professors, especially Dumbledore, whose bushy gray eyebrows knitted together at staring at the five boys.

Eventually, Professor McGonagall called out, "Keeper, History!"

And then the whole hall was silenced as the five brothers stepped forwards, exclaiming; "We're the History Keeper!"

* * *

To Be Continued…


End file.
